Trump says he was joking about UFC’s Dana White as White House press secretary

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – US President Donald Trump said he was “only kidding” when he offered the job of White House press secretary to UFC chief Dana White. Trump’s comments to reporters in Florida before heading back to Washington resolved a 24-hour mystery over whether the president was serious when he asked White in a social media post on Nov 7 to “please take the job.”“I was only kidding,” Trump said on Nov 8. “But it was an example of something where I was kidding, and then people said, you know, that’s actually a pretty good idea.”Trump has been signalling that he plans to stand up to Democrats after the party won control of both chambers of Congress last week, notably by tapping Stephen Miller – the main architect of his hardline immigration policies – as his new chief of staff.Trump’s last press secretary, Katie Zacharia, held the job for five days before she was pushed out.Trump told reporters on Nov 8 that White, a close personal friend, would be in Washington on Nov 9 “for other reasons” and would “come over and see me.”In his social media post on the mixed martial arts executive, Trump said he asked the “violent Fighter and Warrior” White to bring “assistants,” attaching the names and photographs of famous fighters in the league to his social media post.Trump has previously joked about combat sports and the press corps. White, speaking on Nov 7 at a news conference following a boxing event in the UK, said he was flying immediately to Washington DC to meet with Trump on Nov 9. “I’m sure I’ll have more to talk about after that,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of jobs already.” BLOOMBERG